Automatic weighing-scale.



S. G. CRANE.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION EILED IUNEB, 1913.

1,221,143. Pteuted Apr. 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

S. G. CRANE.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION r|LED1uNE9,1913.

1,221,143. Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS--SHEE 2.

S. G. CRANE.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING SCALE.

APPLICATION FILED 1uNE9. 1913.

1,221,143. Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEE 3.

@za/bmw.. .Jiu-...4 fr@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL G. CRANE, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 TOLEDO COMPUTING SCALECOM- PANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING-SCALE.

Application lfiled June 9 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAwUnL G. CRANE, a citizen of thc United States,residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic \VeighingScales, of which the following is a specification. r

M v invention relates more particularly to that class of automatic beamscales in which a poise is automaticallyy adjusted longitudinallv of thebeam until the latter is in equilibrium. and in the embodimenthereinafter described includes in its construction a pair of solenoidswhich act upon a common armature or movable core to which the poise isattached whereby the latter is moved in one direction or the otheraccording to which solenoid is in circuit. The construction alsoincludes a computing chart or drum which is likewise controlled by thesolenoids and indicates the weight and total values at various pricesper unit of weight corresponding to different positions of thelongitudinally movable or sliding poise. Other features of the inventionwill be referred to in the course of the following detailed descriptionin which taken in connection with the accompanying drawings is discloseda preferred form of my invention. 1t is to be understood, however, thatthe detailed disclosure is for the purpose of exemplifying the inventiononly and that the scope of the latter is set forth in the followingclaims in which I have endeavored to distinguish it from the prior artso far as known to me without, however, relinquishing or abandoning anypart thereof.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedscale; Fig. 2 a plan view thereof and Fig. 3 a transverse sectionthrough the line of Fig. 2.

The base 1 of the scale may be of any suitable or preferred form and hasmounted thereon at one end the pillar 2 having the branching arms 8, 3which carry the bearings 4, 4 constituting the fulcrum for the beam 5 ofthe scale. The latter takes the form of an open casting of somewhatirregular shape as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing and is formedwith lugs 6, 6 carrying the knife edges 7, 7 which rest upon the bearingblocks referred to above. The beam Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917 seriaiNo. 772,574.

is also provided at 8, 8 with bosses carrying f upwardly directed knives11, 1l upon which is supported the spider 9 for receiving the pan orplatform and which is formed with or, as shown, secured to oppositelyextendlng arms 10, 10 which are downwardly turned at their ends andreceive agate or other bearing blocks 1U', 10 which rest upon the knives11, 11 upon the scale beam. The pillar 2, referred to above, is hollow'and open at its ends to permit the extension therethrough of a check rod12 rigidly connected to the spider and linked to a stationary post 13beneath the base for the usual purpose of maintaining the spider inhorizontal position.

At its rear end the beam is forked to form a rectangular frame 14 withinwhich a cylindrical chart casing 15 is mounted. The ends of the chartcasing are connected to the branches 16, 16 of the scale beam byvertical straps 17, 17 to secure the same firmly in position on thebeam. A drum or cylinder chart of any usual or preferred form isinclosed within the casing but journaled by means of its Shaft 18 in thebranches 16, 16 of the beam, suitable antifriction bearings 19, 19 beingprovided for this purpose. Upon one end of the shaft is rigidly mounteda pinion 20 by which the chart is revolved and the casing is providedwith a sight opening 21 arranged at a convenient angle for theobservation of the person operating the scale. At 22 is shown a commonform of sealing weight and a dashpot 23 is mounted upon the base, itspiston being connected by a rod 24 with the beam, as shown in Fig. 1, toprevent undue vibration thereof.

As above stated the means for automatically offsetting the load placedupon the scale pan comprises a weight or poise and a pair of solenoidsfor reciprocating the same. The solenoids 25, 26 are shown as inclosedin casings arranged end to end longi# tudinally of the scale andsupported together by brackets 27, 28 integral with the scale beam. Themovable frame 29 is supported by rollers 35, 35 upon a graduated trackor guide 33, which latter is embraced by the sliding poise 32 carried bythe frame. The latter comprises end pieces 29', 29 which are formedintegral with inwardly extending members 30 which form the cores of thesolenoids 25, 26 respectively. The ends of said cores are connected forrigidity by a bar or bars of non-magnetic material 302l (see Fig. 1). Itwill thus be seen that when either coil is energized with the other coilunenergized it attracts its armature and correspondingly shifts theframe and poise. The guide 33 is supported on brackets 34, 34 risingfrom opposite ends of a pair of solenoids and provided with suitablebumpers 34, 34 to limit the movement of the frame 31. At its rear endthe frame is eX- tended into a rack bar 36 which is maintained in meshwith the pinion 2() on the drum heretofore referred to by a guide 37 andantifriction roll. 38. Obviously movement of the framecarrying the poiseis accompanied and indicated by a corresponding revolution. of thecomputing drum.

The connections for energizing the solenoid coils comprise a pair ofadjustable contact screws 39, 39 mounted respectively above and belowone of the branches 16 of the beam on 'a sheet metal bracket 40 securedto but insulated from a standard 41 rising from the base. The contactscrews 39, 39 are adapted to engage contact plates 42, 43 respectivelyupon the upper and under side of the beam but insulated therefrom, andfrom the upper plate 42 an insulated wire 44 leads to an attachinglscrew 45 on insulating disk 48 which is in electrical connection withthe coil 25. From the under contact plate 43 an insulated wire 46 leadsto an'attaching screw 47 also upon the 1 nsulating division plate 48 bywhich the c oils are separated, which screw is in electrical connectionwith the coil of solenoid 26. Coils 25 and 26 are both connected by aninsulated wire 50 with a brake coil 51 to be presently described, fromwhich connecting wire 52 leads to the beam at 53 where 1t 1s rounded.The service wires 54, 55 are connected to the bracket 40 and standard 41respectively.

Normally the scale beam occupies a position about midway between thecontact screws 39, 39 and out of contact with either so that there is nocurrent flowing through the device. lf, however, a load or article to beweighed is placed upon the platform 56 carried by the spider the longerarm of the beam is raised thereby to make contact with the screw 39. Acircuit is thus closed from the service wire 54 through the bracket- 40,contact screw 39, contact plate 42, wire 44, screw 45, coil 25, wire 50,coil 51, wire 52 and the beam and frame of the scale back to service at55. rlhe solenoid coil being thus energized will attract its core orarmature and therefore move the frame and poise to the right as seen inFig. 1 until equilibrium is restored when the circuit will be broken bythe contact plate 42 leaving the contact screw '39. rl`he movement ofthe frame as before stated revolves the computing chart to indicate theweight and values at different prices per unit of weight. If, however,by reason of the momentum of the parts the frame and poise are carriedtoo far the beam will swing down to make contact between the contactscrew 39 and the contact plate 43. A circuit is then closed from theservice wire 54 through bracket 40, contact screw 39, contact plate 43,wire 46, solenoid coil.26, wire 50, coil 51, wire 52, the beam and frameof the scale and standard 41 back to service at 55. The solenoid coil 26will thereupon attract its armature and cause a movement of the framecarrying the poise in a. reverse direction and as the movement willnaturally be markedly less than the first movement of the frame andpoise the tendency to overthrow will be correspondingly small. i

But in order to substantially eliminate over-throw I have provided theelectric brake 51 referred to above. This comprises a casing 57 attachedto the insulating end plate 58 of solenoid 25 by a bracket 59 and Sinclosing not only the coil lreferred to above, but also a movable core60 carrying a brake shoe 61 which is normally urged upward to bring thevbrake shoe in contact with the frame 30 by a spring 62 beneath thesame. X'Vhenever a circuit is closed through the brake coil by eitherbeam contact touching its stationary contact and whichever solenoid coilis included in the circuit, the brake solenoid attracts its armatureremoving the brake 61 from the shiftable frame 31 so that the latter isfree to move under the influence of whichever solenoid is in circuit.Whenever the beam moves, however, and the circuit is thereby broken, thebrake solenoid releases its core and the brake 61 is again operativeupon the sliding frame carrying the poise. Thus the brake is appliedimmediately upon the movement of the beam toward the position ofequilibrium and overthrow of the poise is prevented.

Obviously after an article has been weighed and upon its removal fromthe scale the poise will be automatically returned t0 115 the zeroposition for the long arm of the scale beam will be lowered to close thecircuit through the coil 26.

ll claim:

1. In a scale of the class described, a beam, a poise mounted foradjustment longitudinally of the. beam, a solenoid, a vswitch in circuittherewith, the movable member of which is closed by the movement of thebeam and a core for the solenoid connected to the poise.

2. ln a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, a poiseadjustable longitudinally of the beam, a pair of solenoids, cores forthe solenoids connected to the poise for operating the same, a pair ofswitches one of which controls the circuit through one coil and theother of which controls the circuit through the other coil, the movablemembers of the switches beingr controlled by the movelnent of the beam.

3. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, a poisemovable longitudinally of the beam. a pair of solenoids mounted on thebeam, cores for said solenoids connected to the poise for operating thesame, a pair of relatively stationary contacts, a pair of contact platescarried by the beam and arranged to engage the respective stationarycontacts, connections from the contact strips on the beam to therespective coils and connections for completing the circuits.

4. .In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof. apoise adapted for adjustment longitudinally of the beam, a solenoidcarried by the beam, a solenoid core therefor connected to the poise tooperate the same. a stationary contact, a contact carried by the beamand adapted to engage with said stationary contact. connections from thecontact on the beam to the solenoid and connections for completing acircuit through a source of electrical energy.

5. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof. a framemovable longitudinally of the b lam. a poise connected to and carried bythe frame. a solenoid coil through which one arm of the frame extendsconstituting a movable core therefor. a stationary contact. a contactmounted on the beam to engage the same and connections from saidcontacts including the solenoid coil and a source of electrical energy'.

(i. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof. apoise adjustable longitudinally of the beam. a pair of solenoidsarranged in axial alinement, a core comlnon to the solenoids andconnected to the poise, a pair of switches adapted and arranged to beclosed by the movement of the beam in opposite directions andconnections from the switches to a source of current and to therespective coils ,whereby the poise may be automatically adjusted tobring the scale into eipiilibrium.

T. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof. a poiseadjustable longitudimilly of the beam. a pair of solenoid coils, thecores of which are connected to the poise and which are adapted to shiftthe poise respectively in opposite directions. stationary contactsarranged above and below the beam, a contact mounted upon and movablewith the beam connected to one of the solenoid coils and adapted toclose the circuit therethrough to move the poise in one direction and asecond contact plate on the beam adapted to engage the other stationaryContact to close a circuit through the other coil to move the poise inthe opposite direction.

8. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, a poiseadjustable longitudinally of the beam, a iframe adapted to shift thepoise, a pair of solenoid coils axially alined and having a common coreforming a part of said frame and a pair of' switches adapted to beclosed by the movement of the b xa'm in opposite directionsl to closecircuits through the respective coils to reciprocate the poise.

Si. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, arotary indicator. a pinion on the axis thereof, a poise shiftablelongitudinally of the beam, a rack connected to the poise and engagingthe pinion. and electrical means including a solenoid for automaticallyshifting the poise and controlled in its operation by the position ofthe beam.

l0. In a weighing scale and in combination with the lvam thereof, arotary chart, a pinion connected thereto, a longitudinally movablepoise. a rack connected to the poise and engaging the pinion. .isolenoid ha\ing a core also connected to the poise. and a circuit forconnecting the solenoid with a source of electri al energy including aswitch operated by the movement of the beamv for closing the circuitthrough the solenoid.

l1. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, apoise adjustable longitudinally of the beam. a rotary chart mounted onthe beam.'connections between the pois and the rotary chart foroperating the same, a pair of solenoids. the cores whereof are connectedto the poise and which are adapted to shift the latter in oppositedirections respectively, circuits arranged to connect the respectivesolenoids with a source of electrical energy and including Va pair ofswitches adapted to be closed by the movements of the beam to close thecircuits through the respective solenoid coils.

l2. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, apoise movable longitudinally of the. beam, a frame by which said poiseis moved, a brake operating upon the frame and electro-magnetic meansfor withdrawing the brake from contact with the f ame.

13. In a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, apoise adjustable longitudinally of the beam, a reciprocating frame forope 'ating the poise, a4 brake normally forced into contact with theframe, electro-magnetic means for withdra wing the brake from the frameand a switch for closing the circuit through the electro-magnetic means,the movable member of which switch is operated by the beam. l

1l. In a weighing` scale and in combination with the beam thereof, apoise adjustable longitudinally ot the beam, a frame for adjusting thepoise. a brake normally7 preseed into Contact with the frame, a solenoidcoil for withdrawing the brake and a switch tor Closing' circuit throughthe solenoid eoil one member1 of which is stationaryT and the other'arried by the beam.

15. ln a weighing scale and in combination with the beam thereof, apoise movable longitudinally of the beam, a longitudinally movableframe. elettro-magnetic means for moving the poise, a brake normallyengaging said frame and resisting mowment ot the poise, electro-magnetiemeans i'or withdrawing the bral" and switehes operated by the movementot' the beam tor closing eireuits through the eleetro-magnetieweightshit'ting and brake-operating means.

lo. ln a weighing scale and in eombination with the beam thereof, apoise adjustable longitudinally ot the beam, a trame arrying the poise.eleetro-inagnetie mean.-` tor moving the trame, a brake normallyoperating to cheek the movement of the trame. electro-magnetic means ineireuit with the first said electro-magnetie meanS ior withdrawing thebrake and a switeh operated by the movement of the beam for elosing thecircuit through said eleetro-magnetie means.

17. ln a weighing` Seale and in eombination with the beam thereof, apoise adjustable longitudinally o'l the beam. a trame carrying thepoise, a pairu ot eleetro-magnetic means for moving the frame inopposite directions, a brake adapted to engage the frame for checkingthe movement thereof, electro-magnetic means in eireuit with both saidpoise-shifting means for Withdrawing the brake, and switches closed bythe opposite movement of the beam for closing eireuits through therespective poiseshitting 1n ans respectively7 and through thel)rake-operating means.

1S. ln a weighing scale and in eombination withthe beam thereof, a poiseadapted to be shifted longitudinally ol' the beam` a pair ot' solenoidshaving cores eonneeted to the poise for moving the same in oppositedireetions respeetively, a pair ot switehes in eireuit with therespeetive solenoids and operated by movements of the beam to closeeireuits through the same, a brake and eleetro-magnetieally operatedmeans for moving the same in eireuit with said solenoids.

lil, ln a weighing scale and in eombination with the beam thereof. aframe 2l) earrying a poise and one branch ot whieh forms the eore ot apair of axially arranged solenoids. said solenoids 25, 2o. stationarycontaets BS). movable eontaet plates l2, 43 mounted upon the beam andeonneeted respeetively to the eoil of solenoid 2b and to tlie eoil ot'solenoid 25, a brake (31, a solenoid 51 eontrolling the brake, a eommoneonneetion from the solenoids 25 and 2G to .solenoid 5l and eonnectionsto a source ot eurrent wherebyv the solenoid otl the brake willl beenergized whenever either of the other two solenoids is energixed.

SAMUEL G. CRANE.

Yl'itnesses:

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@unies oi" this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

